Tutorial: Needle Rolls

April 20, 2012

Spring brings out the organizing bug in me, not like it’s ever very far from the surface, and one mess in my house that’s been bugging me for ages is the mess in the drawers in my studio. A lot of the mess just can’t be controlled, unless I wanted to give up working with all kinds of odds and ends and fiddly bits, but every time I went for a knitting needle I’d have to empty my entire drawer to find the pair. A needle roll is a simple solution, and you can find a million different versions of them, but here’s my easily customizable version.

Cut your lining fabric wide enough to fit the number of needles you want to roll up. 15 1/2″ was a good size for me, but obviously that measurement is slightly random. To get the length you’ll want to double the length of the needles you’ll be using, plus a few inches for an overlap. Mine was 31″ for my long straight needles, and 16″ for my crochet hooks and circular needles.

Cut the exterior fabric 2 1/2″ wider than the lining, and the same length. Position the lining in the center of the exterior fabric, wrong sides together, and fold the edges in twice to cover the raw edges.

Sew those edges in place.

Now you’ll need three pieces of double fold bias tape. You can just buy a package at the store, but it’s super easy to make your own with an iron and a guide. Two pieces should be the same width as your roll, with 1″ extra to turn the ends under. The other piece can be whatever length is convenient to cut as long as it’s more than 18″.

Fold the edges of your short pieces of bias tape under and iron in place. Fold the bias tape in half and iron a crease in it so your edges will line up nicely when you go to sew.

Use the bias tape to cover up the remaining raw edges by carefully pinning it over the end, lining up the edges. Sew in place.

Fold up one end to make the pocket for your supplies. Remember your earlier measurements and make sure you fold up enough to make a nice sturdy pouch while still being able to see the needles poke out the top. Sew the sides down, then sew straight stitches every few inches to make pockets. I didn’t bother to measure, I just tossed lines willy nilly.

To make the tie, take the long strip of bias tape you’ve made. Fold each edge under 1/2″ and iron in place, then fold the bias strip in half and iron. Sew all the way down the length of it to make one sturdy ribbon.

Secure the tie to one edge of the needle roll by sewing a square to join the two pieces. This will be super strong so you can tie that roll tight and not have anything come loose on you.

I made a whole bunch of these at once so I could never go searching for knitting needles again. I’ve got ones for my long needles, ones for my short needles, ones for my circular needles, and ones for my crochet hooks. Now the inside of my drawer is as neat as the inside of these little needle rolls. And now I can sleep at night.

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